AUSTRALIA’S Community and Public Sector Union leaders voted on Monday to extend the suspension of all CPSU election campaigning.
The union called for an urgent meeting with the Rudd government about the ‘efficiency dividend’ increase, which they estimate will cut up to 5,000 jobs and cause massive delays and backlogs for millions of Australians who rely on the essential services public servants provide.
CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood said: ‘The suspension is in protest at Labour government plans to cut $1.8b from federal government agencies by increasing the ‘efficiency dividend’ from 1.25% to 2.25%.
‘To secure the support of public sector workers, Labour needs strong policies that demonstrate how different they are to the Liberals when it comes to public sector jobs and services.
‘We know (opposition Liberal party leader) Tony Abbott will cut 12,000 to 20,000 public sector jobs, but public sector workers expect something different and better from Kevin Rudd.’
Over the last few months, hundreds of CPSU delegates and staff have been working with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and Australian Labour Party (ALP) candidates to make thousands of calls in marginal seats, co-ordinating local election action, and getting the union’s Cuts Hurt campaign message – about the threat of Abbott to jobs and services – out to tens of thousands of public sector workers.
Trade union members’ main concerns are cuts to wages and workplace conditions, along with weakened job security threatened by a Tony Abbott-led coalition government, ACTU President Ged Kearney said on Sunday.
Kearney said: ‘We will be painting a very stark picture of what is at risk for workers generally right across the board with the election of an Abbott government.’
The union fears the coalition’s industrial relations policy will see a shift to individual contracts for workers including slashing penalty rates, coinciding with a weakening of authority for the workplace regulator.
While the ACTU President expressed her confidence in Prime Minister Rudd to manage Australia’s budget, she said discussions were ongoing in relation to Labour’s efficiency dividend hike, which sparked fears of some 5,000 public sector job losses.
‘We don’t think the way to go in balancing a budget is to take jobs away from people,’ Kearney said, adding that negotiations were continuing with the public sector union, with plans to also discuss the issue with Rudd.
Unions want the government to reconsider its move to lift the efficiency dividend from 1.25 to 2.25 per cent to save $1.8 billion over three years.
The Rudd government says it can achieve the shift through non-staff cost savings, natural attrition and voluntary redundancies.
Earlier, an ACTU statement claimed the election to be held on September 7th will be a choice between a government that respects workers’ rights and an opposition that wants to give employers more power; a government that has acted to protect jobs and an opposition that simply wants to erode rights at work and job security.
The statement said that despite the pressures of a hung Parliament, the last three years have seen Labour deliver major policies that benefit workers.
Tony Abbott wants to increase the use of individual contracts, reduce the ability of workers to have union representation in the workplace and reduce the power of the Fair Work Commission – the independent umpire of the industrial relations system.
The coalition, ACTU said, will postpone superannuation increases that will deliver more money for workers’ retirement.
The union leader said: ‘Australian unions will be active during this election.
‘We will talk to workers about the issues they face, and we will be campaigning for a future where we value rights at work and invest in jobs and the industries of the future.’
l The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union has launched a ‘Let’s Spread It Around’ campaign with billboards carrying a simple message: ‘Don’t shred pulp and paper jobs. Buying Australian paper means Australian jobs.’
CFMEU Pulp and Paper Workers District Federal Secretary Alex Millar said the billboards coincided with a postcard writing campaign, which has involved thousands of pulp and paper workers writing to politicians from all major political parties.
‘Workers in the pulp and paper industry don’t want charity, they just want to see sensible policies put in place to ensure the ongoing viability of this important industry.
‘A simple challenge workers have laid down to all political parties and candidates is to put their money where their mouths are on supporting Australian jobs by using Australian-made paper products for all their election materials’.
The Industry and Innovation Minister Kim Carr has announced that the government will aim for 100 per cent of the cars in government fleets to be Australian made.
Millar said: ‘The Commonwealth Government is the biggest purchaser of paper products in the country, but their broken procurement policies currently mean quality Australian products are often being replaced with inferior overseas paper, sometimes sourced from companies with a history of environmental and labour abuses.
‘Our union is working with pulp and paper workers around the country to seek bi-partisan support for improved procurement and standards policies to allow Australian manufacturers of paper products to compete with imported products on a level playing field – for communities like the Latrobe Valley, where thousands of jobs are directly and indirectly supported by the pulp and paper industry.’
The government has announced an extra $200 million in funding to stimulate demand for Australian cars and a plan to ensure the government fleet’s transition to 100% locally made cars.
‘Local content targets for government purchasing and on government projects are an effective way to give certainty to Australian industry, said ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver.
Meanwhile, car maker Holden boss Mike Devereux says he will wait until after the Federal election to make a final decision on the future of its Australian operations.
Elizabeth assembly plant staff in Adelaide are soon to vote on a new enterprise agreement that will cut $15 million a year from Holden’s costs.
He said a decision on Holden investing $1 billion in Australia to develop two new cars will be finalised after talks with whichever party wins the election.
‘We would need to wait until, frankly, the outcome of the election to be able to commit that $1 billion investment,’ Devereux said.
‘Because, it’s such a long time period. We’re talking about investments that will take us out beyond 2022 now to 2023.’
Last week, Holden and the car industry union put the new enterprise agreement to Holden’s 1,700 staff in Adelaide.
A vote was scheduled for August 9th but has been delayed to August 13 to give the workforce more time to absorb and understand the changes.
